The Australian Open could be without a Grand Slam champion this year after she suffered an injury just five days before the tournament gets underway.
There have already been some significant withdrawals from the first major of the year, with Jack Draper pulling out of the Australian Open due to his ongoing arm injury.
Draper is not the only former top 10 player who has withdrawn from the Melbourne major, with former finalist Qinwen Zheng also withdrawing from the Australian Open.
Roland Garros semifinalist Lois Boisson is the latest to pull out of the Australian Open, and now a Grand Slam champion may also be a risk for the first major of 2026.
Jelena Ostapenko suffers injury right before the Australian Open
Jelena Ostapenko is the current world number 24 and a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the Roland Garros singles title in 2017 and the US Open women’s doubles title in 2024.
Despite lifting some of the biggest titles in sport, Ostapenko had a mixed 2025 season after winning just 18 of her 38 singles matches.
The highlight of this season came for Ostapenko when she won the Stuttgart Open after beating both Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.
However, the Latvian’s most talked about moment of the 2025 season came at the US Open, where Ostapenko was involved in an altercation with Taylor Townsend.
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As she looked to put that controversy behind her in 2026, Ostapenko has got her year off to a mixed start.
Ostapenko lost in the first round of the Brisbane International last week in singles, but went on to win the doubles title with her partner Su-wei Hsieh.
The 28-year-old attempted to use this momentum to boost her singles form at the Adelaide International, and Ostapenko got off to a very fast start after leading talented teenager Tereza Valentova 5-0.
Despite having such a dominant lead and two set points, Ostapenko was unable to convert and lost the first set to Valentova, 7-5.
Ostapenko was able to start winning games again at the start of the second set, but after being broken to go 3-2 down she retired from the match.
In the latter stages of the second set, Ostapenko received treatment on her neck and shoulder area.
Ostapenko has also since withdrawn from her doubles quarterfinal and she now has just five days to recover ahead of the first major of 2026.
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What is Jelena Ostapenko’s best result at the Australian Open?
Although she is a Grand Slam singles champion, Ostapenko has previously struggled at the Australian Open.
Having won just 57% of her matches at the Melbourne major, it is Ostapenko’s joint-worst Grand Slam tournament alongside the US Open.
Ostapenko achieved her best result at the Australian Open in 2023, when she beat Coco Gauff en route to reaching the quarterfinals.
| Year | Jelena Ostapenko’s result at the Australian Open |
| 2016 | First Round |
| 2017 | Third Round |
| 2018 | Third Round |
| 2019 | First Round |
| 2020 | Second Round |
| 2021 | First Round |
| 2022 | Third Round |
| 2023 | Quarterfinal |
| 2024 | Third Round |
| 2025 | First Round |
However, last year Ostapenko suffered a first round defeat against Belinda Bencic, who is a potential contender for the Australian Open title this year.
Ostapenko will now look to prepare for a different Australian Open this year, with the draw taking place on Thursday, January 15.
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